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Special Forces soldier drowns in Key West pool during underwater combat training said to be the Army's toughest course - the second death at facility in five years
2021-07-30
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Staff Sergeant Micah E. Walker of Peyton, Colorado, died during training

  • Training exercise was at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center's Special Forces Underwater Operations course at a Key West Army facility

  • 'During the training event, the soldier submerged and did not resurface,' an army press release stated

  • A spokesperson for the facility said that an autopsy had yet to be performed at that the cause of death was unknown

  • Walker is survived by a wife and three children, and had just qualified to become a Special Forces medical sergeant this January

  • Walker had received the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Good Conduct medal and a slew of other accolades

  • The seven-week training is considered the most difficult throughout the military branch, and two thirds of the elite soldiers who are chosen to participate quit

  • Trainees learn to fight other divers underwater and travel long distances underwater for covert operations
Posted by:Skidmark

#7  
Posted by: Sluse Grealet9429   2021-07-30 17:26  

#6  Ref #5: Very valid question. Available manpower us one component. Politics is another.
Posted by: Besoeker   2021-07-30 17:03  

#5  #2 One might just as easily ask what Navy SEALs are doing in pitched gun battles deep in the Hindu Kush or urban warfare in Iraq. Snark and snide aside it is still harsh news and a reminder of the guys out there grinding it out.
Posted by: Cesare   2021-07-30 16:32  

#4  Leather cadillac's, parachutes, SCUBA, and Vespas are all logistic capabilities that permit the warfighter to get to the job site. SEAL training, like SF, MARSOF, USAF SOF each have unique capabilities.
Posted by: Besoeker   2021-07-30 15:33  

#3  The SF groups have historically had teams that were Scuba Qualifed, or they at least had the capability to cross-level abd put together teams to meet unique requirements. Some SF missions are simply too mundane or lack the media visibility required for the Navy.
Posted by: Besoeker   2021-07-30 14:58  

#2  Isn't this what Navy SEALS are for? Why would the army be doing this kind of training?
Posted by: Snakes Sleager5327   2021-07-30 14:04  

#1  Walker is survived by a wife and three children, and had just qualified to become a Special Forces medical sergeant this January

Sad beyond words.
Posted by: Besoeker   2021-07-30 04:23  

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